The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday carried out a retaliatory strike against Hezbollah targets in Beirut, one of the strongholds of the terrorist group in Lebanon.
Hezbollah launched a strike inside the Golan Heights —an Israeli-controlled territory bordering Syria — on Saturday, killing 12 children and prompting promises of revenge from Israeli forces. The IDF confirmed Tuesday that it had launched a strike inside of Beirut, and eye-witness accounts and videos from Beirut depicted explosions and wreckage.
התקיפה הדרמטית של ישראל בביירות: העדכונים, התגובות והחשש מהסלמה – מהדורה מיוחדת בחדשות 13https://t.co/aQgoJUuxOH@OrHeller @alonbd @ali_mograbi @MoriahAsraf pic.twitter.com/QkaEbupFTW
— חדשות 13 (@newsisrael13) July 30, 2024
“The IDF carried out a targeted strike in Beirut, on the commander responsible for the murder of the children in Majdal Shams and the killing of numerous additional Israeli civilians,” the IDF said in a statement on Tuesday. “At the moment, there are no changes in the Home Front Command defensive guidelines.”
The IDF did not provide further information in the Tuesday statement. An Israeli official told Axios’ Barak Ravid that the intended target was Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah official and a right-hand man to Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the terrorist group.
Shukr was behind the Hezbollah strike in the Golan Heights on Sunday, according to the IDF. He also played a key role in the 1983 bombing of a U.S. Marine Corps base in Beirut that killed over 241 servicemembers, according to the State Department.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Shukr was killed in the Tuesday strike.
Plumes of smoke could be seen rising over southern Beirut on Tuesday following reports of the strike, according to The Jerusalem Post.
“Hezbollah crossed the line,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement following reports of the strike on Tuesday.
“We defer to Israel to speak to its own military operations,” a White House National Security Council spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We reiterate our clear position: Our commitment to Israel’s security is ironclad and unwavering against all Iran-backed threats, including Hezbollah, and we are working on a diplomatic solution that will allow citizens to safely return to their homes.”
Featured image credit: (Official White House Photo by Cameron Smith)
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